Multiple sources told the Toronto Sun Tuesday that the Raptors are on the verge of landing the 2016 NBA all-star weekend.

An official announcement is expected within a week that will reveal further details of how one of the sport’s biggest weekends will tie into Toronto’s 20th-anniversary season.

Tim Leiweke, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment president and CEO, made it clear upon taking over the company that landing the prestigious event was one of his early goals.

“Clearly the 2016 all-star game is a flag in the sand that we planted with the NBA. It is a must-have in my opinion and it will be the centrepiece of how we rebrand this,” Leiweke said in May.

He also has said that Raptors fans “deserve a little bit of positive news.”

Incoming NBA commissioner Adam Silver was in town earlier this month for MLSE Expo, a get-together of MLSE employees, but Leiweke told the Sun at the time that Silver wasn’t around to go over the all-star bid. He will take over from David Stern this February.

MLSE began the bidding process last February and Cleveland was considered the other serious contender for the event, which will be held in New Orleans this season.

The NBA will announce Wednesday that the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets will co-host the 2015 all-star festivities, with the game at Madison Square Garden and the weekend’s other events at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

NBA all-star weekend includes the main event Sunday, as well as the slam dunk/three point and other contests on Saturday night, celebrity-themed games Friday and the multi-day, fan-friendly NBA Jam Session that likely would be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

The Raptors have not had an all-star since Chris Bosh signed with the Miami Heat, but, by the 2015-16 season, Canada is expected to be the second- or third-leading provider of NBA talent. By then, two Toronto-area athletes are expected to have been taken No. 1 overall in the NBA draft. Anthony Bennett was selected first by Cleveland this summer and Andrew Wiggins, about to start his first season at Kansas, is considered a nearly surefire successor for that spot.

The Air Canada Centre has undergone considerable renovations, including the construction of Maple Leaf Square, since a major all-star weekend was last held there back in 2000, when the NHL’s best came to town.

The Rogers Centre, then known as the SkyDome, played host to the 1991 Major League Baseball all-star game.

Toronto to host 2016 NBA All-Star Game

The basketball world is coming to Toronto in early 2016.
Multiple sources told the Toronto Sun Tuesday that the Raptors are on the verge of landing the 2016 NBA all-star weekend.
An official announcement is expected within a week that will reveal further details of how one of the sport’s biggest weekends will tie into Toronto’s 20th-anniversary season.
Tim Leiweke, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment president and CEO, made it clear upon taking over the company that landing the prestigious event was one of his early goals.